Writing and raising children in the leafy London suburbs

Did you know Tuesday was a big day for Year 6 children (that’s those in the last year of primary school)?

No, neither did I. Well, not until quite recently.

You hear a lot about GCSE results and A-level results;not so much about the transition between primary and secondary school. But Tuesday was the day 10-11 year-olds across the country discovered where’d they’d spend the next five years of their life.

For Millie H. Carter it turned out to be Blackfen School for Girls, her first choice – and first choice for two of her best friends, as well. She’d been admirably cool about the whole waiting process, and insisted she wasn’t worried right up until the night before.

From an education point of view I wasn’t terribly worried either – all of the schools we saw and put as her choices seemed like perfectly fine and well-run institutions. Still, going to big school is a massive change, especially if you’ve been at comfortably ensconced in one school basically for as long as you can remember.

It’s nice to know at least some of your buddies will have your back at the new place.

And even Millie’s coolness began to crack a little – she asked us to tell her as soon as we knew, even if she was asleep (most places seem to announce places in the morning, Bexley’s would, it was announced, not be released until “sometime after five PM”!)

But “sometime after five PM” turned out to be pretty accurate – they were live online by two minutes past five. I cheered, the Lovely Melanie yelled; Millie ran in, grinned, squealed, jumped up and down on the bed, gave us both a hug and ran out again shouting “I got Blackfen! I got Blackfen!”

She was even more excited when social media told us her BFFs Emma and Ione were going to Blackfen. After that it was all smiles and repeating “I can’t believe I got Blackfen and all my friends are going there, too!”

Nannies, grampies, granddads and grandmas were all texted, social media was updated and everyone was happy, not least the big school girl herself.

Even Amber got caught up in it, because if your older brother sister goes to a school then chances are you will, too (the only way Amber might not also become a Blackfen girl is if she enters and passes the 11-plus…)

We all inhabit a house on the edge of London, and I make a living as a copywriter in the centre of town.

It's been a turbulent few years - tragedy struck early in 2011 when my younger brother died very suddenly and unexpectedly. We're still recovering from that.
My dad had a heart transplant in 2008. He's still alive and doing very well indeed.